Complaints threaten families

A PALMWOODS employer has asked for “a fair go” as the family-owned business works hard to avoid sending staff to dole queues after a solid dose of Mother Nature’s worst.

Drilling contractor Peta Gibson said they had three families relying on them to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table but their core business had been on hold since November.

She said they had found some fill-in work welding skids for a treatment plant company to pay the staff’s wages until they could go back to work.

BUT Mrs Gibson said complaints from at least one neighbour, resulting in a visit from council, were putting those jobs at risk.

“Our rigs are up north where the rain started in November so we had to shut down and our trucks are all still up there,” she said.

“We have still been paying our boys every week because they’ve all got families and we want to support them.

“We thought we were going to have to cut wages or sack them but we didn’t want to do that.

“We are not looking for handouts. We don’t want to add people to the unemployment list, so we have deviated from our normal business and are doing any job that we can find to pay the wages.

“Our immediate neighbours, right near the sheds on our property, are small business owners too so they understand it’s only a temporary gig, but we’ve had complaints from up the road that we are making too much noise.

“They have also complained ... we have too many deliveries to the property, and that we go in and out of our property too much.”

Mrs Gibson said council told them they could continue for now but if there were more complaints they would call the Environmental Protection Agency.

“It was really distressing,” she said.

“The income from this work is just enough to cover the wages. We haven’t been paid since November and we’re relying on our overdraft to get through.

“We’re in limbo and we just need a fair go which doesn’t cost taxpayers a cent.”

Local councillor Jenny McKay said she did not know all the details but urged neighbours to be tolerant while people tried to protect their livelihoods following devastating weather events.

She said she looked forward to speaking to the people involved and hoped a resolution could be reached.

“Anyone trying to protect jobs of employees, I take my hat off to them. I fully understand what they are trying to do but council, when we get complaints, have to be reactive,” she said.

“I’d like to think we could work with neighbours because I’m cognisant of the financial environment we’re in.

“We’ve just got to be tolerant as neighbours and try to understand different situations people are in during tough times.